Deborah Rosati

“It is my passion that drives me as an Entrepreneur.”

Deborah Rosati, an award-winning corporate director and entrepreneur, has been defined in three interconnected ways throughout her 35-year career – as a corporate governance champion, catalyst for change and community builder.

As the founder and CEO of Women Get On Board Inc. (WGOB), an 850-member social-purpose company, Deborah is building a community of the next generation of women corporate directors, advancing equity, diversity & inclusion (EDI), collaboration, courage, and confidence in the boardroom. Fueled by women holding only 26% of TSX-listed companies’ board seats,* WGOB amplifies the voices of women leaders, board members and professionals across Canada through education, mentorship and allyship. It’s been called The Power of Three – one woman in the boardroom is a token, two is a presence, and three is a voice.

Deborah is a leading and serving corporate director and is currently chairing the board of Profound Impact Corporation. She has chaired many public company audit committees and nominating & corporate governance committees. In addition, Deborah has led and served on numerous special committees with various mandates (including going public, going private, M&A, restructuring and special investigations). Deborah’s passion for good governance and board diversity is rooted in her board journey when she was often the only woman in the boardroom. These first-hand experiences cemented Deborah’s conviction that having more women on boards makes better business sense.

Never satisfied with the status quo, Deborah always seeks ways to challenge expectations and drive change. She brings an environmental, social and governance (ESG) lens to every board she serves on, as she believes in the power and responsibility of business to change our world for the better.

Deborah’s commitment to sustainable change and empowerment, deep governance and financial expertise and dynamic personality has made Deborah a sought-after thought leader and speaker —her thought leadership on corporate governance, sustainability, EDI and social impact is profiled on her website deborahrosati.ca.

Deborah’s recent awards include:

Honorary Degree: Doctor of Laws – Brock University, 2023
Canadian Women Entrepreneur (CWE) Award for Gender Equality in the Workplace, 2023
SustainabilityX Magazine’s inaugural Global 50 Women in Sustainability Award, 2022
WXN’s Top 100 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Entrepreneur (2021) and Corporate Director (2012)
2020 “Director to Watch”

Deborah’s social purpose is to get more women on boards—one woman and one board at a time.

* (Osler’s 2022 Diversity Disclosure Practices report)

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“As leaders, we have a civic duty to elevate the next generation of women leaders by advocating for their economic empowerment and financial freedom so they can make independent decisions. We can achieve this empowerment through education, mentorship, and allyship.”

Honoring Deborah Rosati: Recipient of the 2023 Ruth Unrau Legacy Award

In a career spanning 35 years, Deborah Rosati has embodied three powerful roles - Corporate Governance Champion, Catalyst for Change, and Community Builder. As the Founder and CEO of Women Get On Board Inc. (WGOB), Deborah has been a driving force, assembling an 850-member strong community, poised to be the next generation of women corporate directors. Her work advances Equity, Diversity and inclusion (EDI), fostering collaboration, courage, and confidence in the boardroom. Deborah's passion for good governance and [...]

Finding from Gartner’s 2023 Board of Directors Survey

Gartner’s 2023 Board of Directors Survey—which features data from 281 board directors and members across industries and geographies—offers critical insights into the latest and greatest in governance. Gartner reported on the focuses of executive leaders; where they are now, and where they are headed. The survey aims to understand this group’s actions and intentions regarding risk appetite and growth strategies, digital acceleration, sustainability, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In a new article, WGOB Founder & CEO Deborah Rosati [...]

Channeling Barbie: Fearless, Strong, and Pink

Why I chose “sustain” as one of #my3words for 2023, reminding me to keep showing up fearlessly every day In my recent posts, I’ve been talking about the annual list of #my3words that I select to help remind me every day of what I’m committed to that year. After sharing my thoughts on elevate and innovate, I’ve arrived at the third word on my 2023 list: sustain. What Sustain Means to Me When I think of sustain as a [...]

Recent Blogs

Deborah, as Founder and CEO of Women Get on Board was instrumental in facilitating my board career by providing advice on criteria’s to be given an opportunity to sit on a board. Deborah has grown WGOB from a Toronto based organization to one that is national. She willingly shares her 20+ years experience of sitting on boards for the benefit of others. She is a mentor, sponsor and promoter of numerous women in their board journey. She provides thought leadership and gives back to her community with the invaluable work on CPA Canada’s advisory committees. I know that my board journey would look a lot different without the support and insight of Deborah and WGOB.”

Wendy Kei, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D, Chair of Ontario Power Generation, member of Women Get On Board, Mentor for the Inaugural WGOB Mentorship Program

Deborah Rosati is Canada’s Connector. She focuses her time, energy, passion, insights and wisdom towards connecting, promoting and empowering women to corporate boards. Deborah unites women and men across the country in an effort to drive diversity and women’s equality in boardrooms. Deborah founded Women Get On Board in 2015, and has since established a community of over 650 women and men who are on their board journey. Through Women Get On Board, panels discussions, podcasts and more, Deborah has elevated the bar for good governance, boardroom diversity, equity and inclusion. Furthermore, through Women Get On Board’s Mentorship program, Deborah is grooming the next generation of corporate directors. Deborah leads with passion and inspires everyone she meets with her relentless energy and commitment to helping people and companies flourish.

Deborah’s authenticity and approach to relationship building is unrivaled in the realm of board diversity and corporate board building.

Alyssa Barry, CPIR, Principal & Cofounder, irlabs, Advisory Council member & Sponsor of the WGOB Mentorship Program

Deborah has a unique ability to see a need, but then to invest the effort to create a vision and an ecosystem to address the need. We came together with a shared vision of helping accelerate gender parity on corporate Boards. From that shared vision, we co-created and co-deliver the Getting Board Ready program, targeted at women looking to land their first corporate Board seat. I have had an inside view to her passion, her collaborative nature, her willingness to pay it forward, her expertise, and her acute business savvy. A well of ideas, she seems to have a sixth sense on how to brand and market, and is a force to be reckoned with.

Andrea Plotnick, Ph.D, SVP Board and Executive Solutions at LHH-Knightsbridge & Co-Facilitator with Deborah on the Getting Board Ready Program

Deborah is an outstanding change advocate and continually connects, promotes and empowers women for board service. She is an exceptional entrepreneur who is able to apply her training as a financial expert and operational knowledge of the ‘nuts and bolts’ of running a business, to educate and empower her young team. I believe unequivocally that Deborah is a deserving recipient of an RBC Canadian Entrepreneur Award and I am honoured to support her nomination.

Donna Price, Governance Coach